masterofmagicfandomcom-20200216-history
Giant Spiders
|rarity = Uncommon |casting_cost = |upkeep_cost = per turn |research_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = +10% To Hit Web Spell Poison Touch 4 }} Giant Spiders are a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. They belong to the , and may be summoned using a Summoning Spell of the same name. Giant Spiders are mediocre Melee combat units, but possess the ability to cast the Web spell once during battle. This helps them control movement on the battlefield, and force Flying units to the ground so that they can be attacked in Melee combat. They can be used as valuable support units in any army. The Fantastic Creature Physical Description Giant Spiders are a large species of Wolf Spider or Tarantula - easily larger than a man. Other than their size, they appear to have the unique ability of shooting entire webs of silk over their prey at very long distances - something which ordinary spiders naturally cannot do. The Giant Spiders unit is a , containing up to 2 of these creatures. Attack Properties Giant Spiders are mediocre Melee combat units, roughly comparable to mid-tier Normal Units in terms of combat effectiveness. The Giant Spiders' Melee Attack has a strength of , with each attack having a thanks to an ability bonus. Thus each Giant Spider will inflict about per attack on average. However, these Spiders also have a potent venomous bite. In Melee combat, each Giant Spider makes a Touch Attack delivering 4 points of Poison Damage against its target, for a maximum of per Spider. The target unit rolls against its own score 4 times in a row per Spider, and each failed roll results in the unit taking . This can allow the Spiders to effectively do battle with low-resistance enemy units. Defensive Properties Unfortunately, Giant Spiders are also quite fragile in combat. With only and per spider, they are prone to being killed off by any competent opponents - including their own prey. They will stand up against low-level enemies for some time though. Other Properties Giant Spiders are quite speedy, Walking at a pace of , both in combat and overland. This means they can close the distance with their targets rather rapidly, or hastily scuttle away from stronger enemy units. In truth however, Giant Spiders are not so much prized for their direct combat prowess but rather for their unique ability to cast the Web spell at enemy units (which they can do once per battle). This spell will cause a unit to become "stuck" in place, unable to move or attack. The Webbed unit must waste each turn attacking the web until it can be removed, and can only Counter Attack. Most importantly, a Web striking a Flying unit will remove its Flying ability, turning into a Walking unit for the remainder of the battle. This can help the Giant Spiders in assaulting an airborne prey unit, but is also an extremely effective support ability for any army: giving the army a good way to ground enemy Flying units so that they can be slaughtered by Walking troops. Also note that the Giant Spiders have a respectable level of Resistance, at . Basic Tactics The default combat tactic for Giant Spiders would be to immobilize their prey, then close in swiftly and attack it with their Poisonous bite. This can be performed against Flying units as well as Walking ones. Low-level enemy units can be dispatched very easily this way, and mid-level units may be hurt as well. The same tactic is employed when the Giant Spiders are acting as a support unit. As described above, the Giant Spiders cast their Webs over the target(s), allowing other, stronger units to move in and finish the job. Webs are also an excellent way of preventing enemy Ranged Attack units from firing at the Giant Spiders or their allies. This buys time for friendly units to close the distance and assault the enemy with Melee Attacks, with which ranged units are often less proficient. Enemy Giant Spiders Giant Spiders appear as neutral monsters mostly in low-level encounters, or as support units for much larger creatures. A large number of Giant Spiders can be quite dangerous, especially to any army relying on nimble Flying units. Nonetheless, lone Giant Spiders pose a threat only to the weakest of units, and even whole swarms of them stand virtually no chance against high-tier Normal Units, Fantastic Creatures or Heroes. Ability Overview +10% To Hit * This unit has an extra to hit its target with every attack. This improves its statistical chance to inflict more with each attack it makes. Web Spell x1 * This unit may cast the Web spell once per combat at any enemy target. * This spell-casting does not take out of the Wizard's pool, nor does it reduce the Wizard's Spell Casting Skill for this battle. * Immediately after casting the spell, the unit's turn ends. It may not move or attack until its next turn. Poison Touch 4 * During this unit's Melee Attack, each will also make a Touch Attack against the target, delivering 4 points of Poison Damage per attack. * The target unit must make 4 consecutive Resistance rolls against each Poison Attack. For each roll the target fails, it receives . * The Poison Damage is dealt simultaneously with the exchange of Melee Damage between the two units. * The Poisoning also occurs when this unit Counter Attacks against an enemy assailant. * This effect does nothing against targets possessing the Poison Immunity ability. Usage Giant Spiders may only be cast on the overland map, for the base Casting Cost of . Upon casting, the new Giant Spiders unit will appear in the town currently containing the caster's Summoning Circle. The new unit is created with full Movement Points, and may move and/or attack immediately as necessary. To keep the Giant Spiders in play, it is necessary to pay an Upkeep Cost of per turn. This is drawn automatically from the caster's Mana pool each turn. Failure to pay the required costs due to lack of in the pool will lead to the Giant Spiders being immediately destroyed, along with any Unit Enchantments currently affecting it. If the unit is destroyed in combat, then it is gone from the world entirely, and there is no further need to pay its Upkeep Costs. You can also dismiss the Giant Spiders voluntarily. To do this, right-click the unit's icon and then press the red "Dismiss" button on the bottom right corner of the unit's details panel. A dismissed unit is gone forever, but of course you can always cast the Giant Spiders spell again to get a fresh new one. The primary reason to dismiss a Fantastic Creature would be to remove its Upkeep Cost (conserving as a result). Acquisition As an Uncommon spell, Giant Spiders may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least one Spellbook. However, its availability during the game is almost never guaranteed. Customized Wizards possessing Spellbooks at creation time may choose this spell as one of their default spells before starting the game, in which case the spell will already be researched and available for casting immediately on the first turn. Wizards who possess at least Spellbooks, or Wizards with Spellbooks who did not select Giant Spiders as a guaranteed spell, will be able to Research this spell at some point during their campaign. Wizards with fewer than Spellbooks have a random chance of being able to Research it. The chance for this spell to appear increases with the number of Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. Giant Spiders has a base Research Cost of . With at least Spellbook, the Giant Spiders spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell. Category:Units Category:Fantastic Creatures Category:Nature